Today we walked about 18km from Mondoñedo to Abadín. It was mainly uphill all day as we headed further into the mountains. We did take an alternate route as the standard course went up steeply, and we didn’t want to do that. Our path was more gradual. Today’s main challenge was the intermittent rain and constant wind we had to battle against.
Our stay in Mondoñedo was great. We ended up four of us renting an apartment for the night. Ron and I went to the supermarket to buy ingredients to cook us a meal because it had a kitchen and that worked out much cheaper for us. We cooked a pasta dish for dinner and bought bacon and eggs for breakfast.
The guy who owned the hotel was also the sacristan at the cathedral and invited us to Mass at 7 pm and afterwards showed us around the cathedral.
We follow the valley and road upwards for most of the day. The freeway and wind turbines are way up in the mountain above us. We can hear the throb of the turbines occasionally.
We pass by some sinister-looking ruins, and I’ve searched on the web but can’t find out what they are and what it was for—a very strange-looking building.
The rain was setting in quite a bit at this point, and once we’d climbed to the summit, the path met the freeway. At that point, there was a roadside fuel stop, so we decided to go in and get out of the rain and have a coffee and some cake.
After our refreshments, the rain did continue to threaten but never eventuated. The wind was blowing a gale, though. From this point on to Abadín, it was mostly downhill, so an easy walk into town.
So a shorter walk today but a steady climb kept the heart rate up. We arrived in Abadín at about 3 pm, and our bags hadn’t arrived yet, so we had a couple of beers and waited for them to arrive. That’s it for today. Tomorrow we’re heading for Vilalba, and from there, it’s deep into the countryside without much until we hit the French Camino in Arzua. Not long to go now. This time next week, I’ll be sitting on a plane heading back to Barcelona. Time flies when you’re having fun.
Anyway, that’s it from me today. Thanks for reading, and Buen Camino! 🙃
For a map of today’s walk, you’ll find it below.